land reform - namibia university of science and technology 10 land... · land reform consist of...
TRANSCRIPT
Land Reform
Defining land reform Def: Societal arrangments whereby Governments administers possession and the use of land. Land reform consist of government initiated or government based real estate property redistribution, generally, agricultural land. Most often refer to transfer of land from a small number of wealthy( historically nobel) owners to indivduals who directly work the land.
Challenges to land reform
Political and ethnic challenges Land use problems Institutional tensions Agreement on land policy Role of stakeholders Whom land rights and decision-
making is vested in
The case for land redistribution
Small farmers are usually: • More efficient; • Better for poverty reduction; and • Better for equity
“Small farmer” = Family farmer, owner-operator, using mostly family labor And equity is good for growth
• While unresolved equity issues can plunge a country into long periods of civil unrest and economic crisis
Markets will not redistribute land
The price of land in the market reflects: • Income stream from agriculture • Plus value as asset, hedge against inflation
Small farmers can only afford to pay the agricultural value
So will be outbid in the land market by the rich
Need to remove all distortions favoring large farmers
Need subsidies for the poor Need a progressive land tax
Goals of land reform
Reducing poverty Expanding the rural areas Returning land to its previous owners
Land ownership and Tenure
Right of disposition over land. The right to use the land
Types of land ownership
State ownership of land Collective and communal ownership Private ownership of land Farm tenancy
• Occupational tenancy • Cash tenancy • Rent in kind • Share tenancy
The Agricultural Commercial Land Reform Act of 1995
The 1995 Act describes Namibia’s agricultural land for reform to include: • Land situated in local authority areas • Land situated n settlement areas • Land of which the state is the
owner.
Land Reform Commission
Section 2 of the Act established a commission and this commission's functions are to: • Advise Minister on land acquisition
and redistribution. • Investigate matters relating to the
exercise of powers by the minster on land acquisition and redistribution.
Land Acquisition: the menu
“Willing buyer, willing seller” • Government buys farms at market prices
from willing sellers Compulsory acquisition
• Government expropriates farms “Market-assisted”
• Beneficiaries purchase land themselves with subsidies
Negotiated transfers • Government and land owners strike a deal
Willing buyer, willing seller
Pro’s: • Government has “right of first refusal” for
every farm that comes on the market • No loss of investor confidence
Con’s: • Some sales will be masked (shareholders
of closed corporation change, but not title deed)
• Government ends up with title deed
Compulsory acquisition
Pro’s: • Planning advantage (e.g. Kenya 1960s)
Con’s: • Costly, slow • Coordination problems:
- Farm assets need immediate protection - Need to select beneficiaries in advance or
very quickly
“Market-assisted” “community-driven”, grants to
beneficiaries for purchase Pro’s:
• Flexible, can be fast • Beneficiaries: self-selected • Title deed goes directly to beneficiaries • Less uncertainty
Con’s • Need restructured land market • Can drive up land prices, so need a land tax
Negotiated land transfers Negotiation/arbitration between
Government and farmers • National • Local
Pro’s: • stakeholders’ partnership • not confrontational • “settle out of court”
Con’s: • Special projects, difficult to scale-up
Improvement of legal
framework conditions for secure land use in
communal areas and equitable access to land in
commercial areas
Support to Land Reform in Namibia (SLR)
Project title: Support to Land Reform
Project partner: Ministry of Lands and Resettlement
(MLR) Timeframe: Planned Duration: 01/03 – 09/13 Duration Phase III: 02/10 – 09/13
Contribution to Phase III: € 5,5 Mio.
Contact: Team Leader: Christian Graefen [email protected], [email protected]
Capacity development for key stakeholders
of land reform
Development of strategies and policy
recommendations for land reform
Conceptualization and coordination of a constitutionally
implemented land reform
Project Objectives Project in Brief Overall Objective
Support to Land Reform in Namibia (SLR)
A Land Reform Action Plan provides a coherent national strategy for land reform that ensures full transparency of land reform targets and process as well as buy-in from all relevant political stakeholders, the Namibian public and the donor community.
Implementation of land reform is “on target” with a total of 6,7 Mio ha of land redistributed which equals 45% of the 2020 target.
Under the policy leadership of the MLR, Communal Land Boards have been capacitated to competently implement land registration (22,000 titles issued; 10,000 or 45% women as beneficiaries) and resolve land disputes and conflicts (185 out of 188 claims resolved).
Namibian University of Science and Technology (Polytechnic) enabled to build national training capacities through a MSc Program on Land Management (with presently 22 students).
Innovative approaches (as concerted effort of GIZ, KfW, EC) allow for efficient land verification and registration; a mentorship program for post-settlement support (with 37 mentors and 1700 mentees).
Revised national land tax system based on legally confirmed land valuation criteria provides N$ 33 Mio taxes p.a. that are dedicated to land reform / acquisition.
Results: What has been achieved so far
Component 1 Component 2 Component 3 Development of strategies
and policy recommendations for land reform
Capacity development for key stakeholders of land reform
Conceptualization & coordination of a constitutionally
implemented land reform
Conclusions Strong case for land redistribution: equity,
efficiency, peace • But land and other markets are often
biased against small farmers • Menu of options (compulsory acquisition,
negotiation, market-assisted) Sense of urgency: beware of forces stalling
reforms until it is too late…
Self improvement exercise.
READ unit 10 in your study guide as well including all the activities. READ on page 177 of study guide -
Agricultural Land reform Act Familiarise yourself with debates for
and against land reform Do you agree with the Namibian land
reform challenges? Suggest others?